Guardian Spirits
by ChronosSkyz
Summary: As he travels through different worlds to fix what is wrong and make it right, follow Andros in his quest for the truth of himself in the Realm of Oblivion. Could the legendary weapon he wields be the answer to who he is or is it the mysterious organization known as Zeronos that holds the truth? Guardian Spirits. 2 Worlds. 2 Destinies. But only one will rise to its true potential.
1. The Newcomer

**Guardian Spirits: The Newcomer**

"I've always been lost ever since…well I don't know. Everything is a mystery to me as if a part of me has faded away with my memories. Memories…what are they? What form do they take? How are they made? What is a memory? So many questions, yet there is no answer to any of them. If a person is asked what is a memory? They would know what it is, but they would not be able to explain it. That is how I feel. I feel…lonely, like there's no one there for me. I feel as if I can't explain what has happened to me, or who I really am…The only thing I do remember is my name, Andros, and nothing else: Not my friends, nor my family, not even my favorite color! Sometimes, I feel as if I'm not even supposed to exist in this world…" I said aloud.

I stared at the sunset as another day was about to be passed. I sat on a hill top under a cherry blossom tree where a view of the blue, sparkling ocean could be seen. A smile grew on my face as the scenery was perfect in every way: The cherry blossoms were blowing in the wind as the sun settled down behind the mountains and turned day into night. I lied down on my back and crossed my arms around the back of my head and looked up at the night sky.

"Memories…" I whispered.

"Welcome, members of Zeronos. I called this meeting to announce the plan to plunge the Worlds of Light and Oblivion into chaos once again. But before I explain, I must say that I am leaving Zeronos temporarily on a field mission that I must do alone. During my absence, Savalas and his team will take leave on a mission at our other stronghold, and Chronos will take control of Zeronos. Unfortunately, I must also announce that Chronos will have to remove all your memories about me, but your memories of the plan will remain, and in addition, your memories will be replaced; instead of remembering me as your leader, you will only know Chronos as your leader."

"Erase our memories? Does he have that kind of power?" a voice said aloud.

"Yes, Chronos' special ability involves time, thus being able to control time, so when I said he would erase your memories; I meant he would suspend them in time until I finish my mission. Now, let us discuss about the plan. The plan consists of three elements: Timing, Precision, and Execution…"

"Ah! The Kingdom of Vestrill, finally. Am I happy to see another sign of life besides me! Can't wait! " I said anxiously.

I looked up at Vestrill's gates and saw there was an engraving of three dragons of some sort on the gates. There was gold gilded on the gates along with silver. Below the dragons, there were three figures that looked like they were engaged in a battle. I looked to the right of the gate and saw there was a guard standing near the gates, guarding it with vigilance. I approached him, and he stopped me.

"Hold! State your name and what business you have here." The guard demanded.

"M-My name is Andros, and I am here to take rest from my travels, Sir!" I announced.

"Okay, Andros..." The guard said.

There was a pause until the silence was finally broken.

"Welcome to Vestrill! Please enjoy your stay here, and remember to visit the King's Castle, all is welcomed. And today is the day of the Esordio Festival!" the guard announced.

I stared in confusion and was wondering what the Esordio Festival was. Could it be marking an important date? Or was it just another everyday "festival"?

"What is the Esordio Festival?" I asked.

"Oh, the Esordio Festival marks the beginning of Vestrill. It also signifies the legend of Neo and the three spirits. So don't you be stranger; you can talk to anyone in Vestrill since everyone is helpful!" The guard announced.

"Ha-ha, okay. For a second there, I thought you were going to tell me the whole story, phew!" I said.

"Do you want me to tell you everything about the Esordio Festival?" the guard asked.

"Yes, of course, who wouldn't? Unfortunately, I have to settle in before night fall, so I'll make sure to watch the Festival and greet the people. And maybe I will go visit the King's Castle." I said sarcastically.

"All right, now you take care of yourself, all right? Vestrill may be the safest place a person could ever be in, but that doesn't mean there aren't any thieves or danger." The guard warned.

I nodded and I walked through the gates as the gates opened. My first step in Vestrill, and I saw that everyone was in a happy mood as they minded their own business. I slowly walked forward as I observed the different shops around me. There was a sweet aroma of baked bread which made my mouth water with hunger, and there were sounds of music coming from the distance. It was still noon, and I assumed that everyone was getting ready for the Festival. I made my way to the center of Vestrill where stood a magnificent Fountain. Around it was a place to sit and there were carvings of the three dragons I had seen on the gates, and there were the engravings "AI TOW WTEC". I knelled down and spent a few minutes staring at it as the people passing by probably thought I was a crazy person talking to a fountain since I was saying my thoughts aloud. I stopped to think, and then I gave up and looked around. From the fountain, there were four roads that went different directions, and they intersected perpendicularly at the fountain. I looked up ahead and saw the King's Castle that the guard also talked about; it was north of where I was standing. I quickly made my way there. As I made my way, I seemed to be walking in the Court Yard for there were many plants, trees, and birds. I could hear the birds singing their lovely tune and saw some dogs, resting peacefully. As I continued, I came about a place where I saw Knights training. As I kept walking, a sword suddenly landed in front of me and into the ground, cutting a cloth off of my shirt, as my reflexes quickly took over. I saw a young man, about my age, run towards me.

"Sorry about that. I was just practicing with my buddy over there and I seemed to have lost my grip. Say, are you a traveler?" the young man asked.

The young man had brown, curly hair with black eyes. He was wearing normal clothing as I was, and that confused me a little. I, personally, did not know that knights could train without armour.

"Yeah, I am. I guess you could tell by the way I'm dressed right now, huh? I said in a dull manner.

"So how about a drink from the tavern? For almost killing you?" the young man asked.

"Sure? By the way, the name's Andros." I announced.

"Gawain. Pleasure to meet you. Now, shall we go? I'm sure the tavern will be packed, especially on the day of the Esordio Festival." Gawain said.

"How about your training partner?" I asked.

"Don't worry about her; she'll be fine." Gawain said, ensuring that everything will be fine as long as we hurry up and go.

"Sure, let's hurry then!" I exclaimed.

I turned to the way I came here, but then Gawain stopped me.

"The tavern is to the right of where you are standing." Gawain said.

"Oh, I knew that, I was just testing you, ha-ha!" I declared.

"Ah! Gawain!" a voice called out.

I turned and saw a middle-aged man walking towards us. He was wearing a cape with six different colors mixed to make a picture of a dragon: red, green, tan, blue, white, and black. The cape was atop a uniform that appeared to give a sign that the man was of royalty. I assumed that he was the King as I bowed down, as did Gawain.

"I need you to tell the knights that they have guard duty around Vestrill during the festival so that the people will be ensured safety. As we know, our enemies seem to always have an advantage during this time of the year, and on last year's Esordio Festival, Vestrill was almost destroyed. I do not want to repeat the same mistake. You, of course, will be attending the Festival's Ball at my castle." The King announced.

"Yes, I will make sure of that." Gawain replied.

"Now, who might this young man be?" The King asked.

I stood up and replied: "I am Andros. I wandered into Vestrill hoping for the best. I am just a traveler, and will be staying in Vestrill shortly."

The King looked satisfied, and he waved us away as we walked away and headed towards the tavern. We kept silent as we walked for we didn't have anything to talk about. I wanted to break the silence, but that would make it awkward, as if people staring at us and smiling wasn't awkward enough. We had finally reached the tavern by the time it was almost nightfall; I did not expect the tavern to be that far, especially when Gawain said that it was close by…

"Hey! You said it was close, and now it is almost sun set!" I yelled.

"I said it was close if we ran, we would make it, but someone kept complaining how tired he was from traveling." Gawain said in a joking manner.

"Hey! I—" I stopped talking.

I started to laugh, and kicked Gawain, out of respect of course.

"Just shut-up. Let's go get a drink; I am so thirsty from all that walking!" I declared.

Gawain nodded, and we both went into the tavern. The day's sun had already faded into the night sky's moon as we went in. We both ordered a drink. I ordered some coconut juice and he ordered a drink I had never seen before. We both took a large gulp, and the conversation ended, if only there was a conversation!

"So…great day, huh?" Gawain asked.

"Yeah…so what is it like being a knight?" I asked.

"Well, it is ver—" Gawain stopped talking and quickly got up.

"Oh no, the knights, I didn't notify them about their new duties. The festival is about to start any second now, and they are all going to go to the Castle for the King's Ball." Gawain said hastily.

Gawain quickly ran out, and I was left alone in the tavern.

"Why is it that I'm always the one that is left alone…?" I asked.

I heard the sound of fireworks as they were being launched all over Vestrill. I took a sip out of my Coconut juice, and stared into the air as I blanked out.

"Timing, Precision, and Execution are vital to the plan. If even one is done incorrectly, the plan will fail. As you all know, Andros is Sora's world counterpart, and he is the connection between the World of Light, and the World of Oblivion. Andros is currently unaware of this; however, which gives us an advantage in our plan. Another advantage we have is that we have been informed by one of our spies that Andros appears to have lost his memory. The last advantage we have is our enemies. With time, on the day of Esordio Festival in Vestrill, we will lead the Karais to Vestrill. As you all know, the Karais are a species of demons with deadly powers and gruesome desires. We will feed this desire by leading the Karais into Vestrill and launch an attack. Once the attack happens, the wandering Andros will also be attacked, but with luck, his powers will reawaken."

"How are you so certain that his powers will reawaken?" a voice asked.

"Even if his memories are no longer with him, his power still dwells inside him, waiting to be reawaken. With this, Andros fights the Karais himself and will win against them. After Andros has "saved" Vestrill from the Karais, he will surely be knighted by the King-and again- with luck, he will be in the Elite Guardian Spirits unit…"

It was late night as I walked to the King's Castle to see if Gawain was okay. I passed the fountain, but then I ran back to it and squatted down to look at the engravings.

I thought aloud: "Huh? The engravings are gone? I swear they were here when I first got inside Vestrill…hm could it be that my mind was playing tricks one me? That would explain why people were staring at me, but I don't understand, I'm sure that it was here. It looked so clear!"

I quickly stood up and looked around as I noticed that there was no one on the streets. I turned from street to street and didn't see any signs of life, only silence, as if death had taken over. My heart started to beat faster as I had the feeling that something wasn't right.

"Looking for someone?" a voice said behind me.

I quickly turned around to see a young man with short, blond hair like mine. He was wearing a white cloak and white garments gilded with silver and gold. A sudden grin grew on my face suddenly, as if I knew him, but I had no recollection of memory.

"You really are gullible, Andros. Turn around." The young man said.

I turned around as he had said, although I did not know why I did. I blinked and I was suddenly standing around an atmosphere where life was. I turned back to see that the young man was gone, and started to wonder what just happened. I heard loud claps in the sky, like the sound of thunder, as fireworks lit up the night sky. I remembered about the fountain, and I looked at the engraving, and saw that it was there. The engraving: AI TOW WTEC. Suddenly there was screaming, as I quickly turned around and saw demonic creatures attacking the people.

"Destinies Intervene." A voice said behind me.

Frustrated, I turned to the voice and saw the same young man I saw before.

"What?" I asked.

"Those creatures you see are called the Karais. You have to do something, Andros, or the Kingdom will be destroyed." The young man said.

"Who are you? And why are you telling me this? Shouldn't that be the knights' duty?" I asked.

"Reawaken the power that lurks deep within you. Even without your memories, you powers still remain inside your soul. Hurry! Before the Karais attack you!" the young man yelled.

My reflexes quickly took over as I dodged all of the attacks made by the Karais until one of them launched a fire ball at me, and my only option was to run to the Castle and get help. I quickly ran towards the Castle as fast as I could. I came upon the gates to the Court Yard, and I kicked the gate open and continued running. The Karais chased behind me until one of them jumped behind me as I collapsed to the floor.

"Are you really that weak?" The young man said as he appeared if front of me, standing.

"A little help here!" I yelled.

"Don't move. Or else you might get caught up in the impact. Hm maybe this will also help reawaken your powers. If you won't reawaken them yourself, then I'll make you! " The young man exclaimed.

A huge blast of light fell upon me as the Karais that lay on top of me was gone, as I closed my eyes on impact. My heart beat rose as it went faster and faster, until I found myself to be standing up again with myself attached to black armour. I looked around to see that the young man was still standing in front of me. I saw the Karais back away from me as I felt immense energy flowing through me.

"Now rise. The hero who wields the Exodiac Gauntlet! Show your wrath upon these demonic creatures and show them the true power of an Esordio Spirit!" the young man screamed.

A malevolent smile grew on my face as I somehow summoned a sword. It seemed that even without my memories, I somehow knew how to fight, and it seems that my body was moving without my memories. It was as if I had done this a million times before. I jumped towards one of the Karais and slashed horizontally. Blood spilled onto the ground. I repeated the same step several times around my surroundings until I jumped up into the air and came crashing down with my sword, knocking the Karais dead. There was too many as I backed away. As I looked around I noticed that the young man was gone. I quickly made my way towards the Castle's door and I kicked it open as I ran inside and closed the door behind me and rested against it. When I looked up, I noticed that everyone inside was staring at me.

"The Karais are attacking!" I warned.

"Don't be foolish! The knights are guarding Vestrill as we speak." A voice said.

"Knights? Guarding?" I asked.

I remembered when the King came to talk to Gawain about telling the knights to protect Vestrill.

"Gawain! You didn't tell the King?" I yelled out.

I felt thumping on the door as the Karais tried to get in. I grunted as I tried to keep the door closed.

"Unification!" a voice yelled out.

Gawain suddenly jumped towards me. He had green armour and wielded a giant sword as he came to support me. The door suddenly slammed open as me and Gawain jumped back. Swarms of the Karais entered but suddenly stopped as a dark void opened in front of me. A figure walked through. He looked human, and had a black fur coat on that extended down to his legs. He had black hair and black eyes.

"I challenge the King of Vestrill." The man said.

"No! Challenge me, the wielder of the Exodiac Caestu." I yelled.

Everyone grasped as I said that, and I was confused why.

"You are the wielder of the Exodiac Caestu?" the man asked.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you just hear me say it?" I replied.

Gawain stared with shock as the man and I were exchanging glares at each other.

"Then, show me the power of the Exodiac Caestu!" the man screamed.

Everyone in the room backed away from me and the man as we were about to engage in a battle.

"Wait! I'll only battle you if do not harm anyone, and if we battle outside." I declared

"No." the man replied.

"I wasn't asking." I said firmly.

We both exchanged glares once again and there was a moment of silence. I got into a battle pose and got ready just in case he would strike at me first.

The man broke the silence: "I am the Karais King of Darkness, Tenebris. Do you expect me to follow orders from the likes of you humans? But I will make an exception since I do want to witness the power of the Exodiac Caestu. You're lucky kid. If I hadn't agreed, you would be lying on the floor, dead."

I nodded and we both walked outside as people watched us. The King, among the people, walked up to the front to watch the battle. It seems that my Exodiac Caestu is some kind of well-known weapon since everyone wants to see what it was like. I took a deep breath and scanned the area to see if I could use anything to my advantage; there were only flowers, and an open area where the knights trained.

"I can sense a hero rising in the World of Light." A voice said, deep within me.

I spoke out loud: "What the? Where are you? I can hear you, but I can't see you."

"I am Crimson, the Esordio Spirit of Fire and Darkness. I am deep within you, Andros." Crimson said.

Tenebris quickly dash towards me and attacked with his sword, but I managed to block it with my sword, and then strike him with my sword.

"If you want to win against him, you must summon me." Crimson said.

"How?" I said.

Tenebris attacked again with a string of combos until my sword was knocked out of my hand and I was stroked down to the ground. My heart started to beat faster as Tenebris went for a strike with his sword, but I evaded it by rolling to my right side where I quickly jumped back up and picked up my sword. I screamed a war cry and attacked Tenebris, but my sword when through him without leaving a single cut; it was like he was a ghost—intangible. I kept slicing his body as he started to laugh maniacally.

"Having trouble? I thought the Exodiac Caestu's wielder was supposed to be the strongest of the three Esordio Caestus." Tenebris said, laughing.

A grin grew on my face as I screamed out: "Shut up!"

I kept trying to slice him until he finally attacked back by moving at incredible speed and going up behind me to knock me down to the ground.

"Crimson…" Crimson said.

"All right, I'm trying!" I shouted.

"You're no fun. I'll kill you right now!" Tenebris exclaimed.

I let out a scream as Tenebris attacked at incredible speed; I somehow managed to dodge all the attacks until I was hit on my right side, and I collapsed. I put my left hand around my wound as I grunted with pain. Suddenly, a tornado of fire arose out of the thin air, and the fire tornado blew away as the wings of a mighty red dragon rose from the fire. I stared in amazement as the great beast spread his wings as sun shined on him, making him look glorious. Tenebris too was amazed by the dragon.

"So, this is Crimson, the Exodiac Caestu's Spirit…" Tenebris said.

"Okay, that's it! What is an Exodiac Caestu?" I demanded.

"It's ironic really, how the person who wields one of the three most powerful weapons in legend, and doesn't even know it. The Exodiac Caestu is known as the Exodiac Gauntlet in English. It belonged to the Esordio Spirit or Neo Spirit, Crimson. That's enough for you to know, since you won't live that long anymore! The Exodiac Caestu will be mine!" Tenebris exclaimed.

"Crimson!" I yelled.

Crimson rushed in and knocked Tenebris down. My sword suddenly changed into another sword that had a golden handle with a ruby encrusted into it. A smile grew on my face as I grew confidence in my power and rushed towards Tenebris and stoke a string of combos. I slashed horizontally, wounding him, and I realized that he was no longer immune to my attacks.

"OK! Let's do this! Ikou Ze!" I yelled.

I called out to Crimson and commanded him to launch a fire ball at Tenebris. Tenebris' expression suddenly changed as he stared in fear at me. I jumped up and rushed down with my sword vertically, coming into impact with Tenebris, but Tenebris managed to dodge it and he tripped me. He attacked with his sword as I quickly grabbed my sword and shielded myself. I quickly jumped up and went for a slash, but Tenebris evaded it. I saw Gawain tried to get into the fight too, but the King stopped him.

"I guess it's just you and me, Crimson." I said softly.

"Fuse your mind, body, and soul with mines!" Crimson announced.

My body took over me, and I closed my eyes without knowing what to do, but it seemed like a part of me knew exactly what to do.

I suddenly yelled out: "Unification!"

A blast of light radiated around me as Crimson disappeared, and I felt my armour suddenly shifting, and my power growing with each breath I made. I let out a war cry, as I came out of the blast of light, and saw my armour to be remodeled. The colours were still black and red, but the shape changed. I was now equipped with crimson wings, radiating red energy, and two swords, one side black, the other, red. My shoulder armour was bigger with a strange insignia on it, and I had a gauntlet on my right arm, which had sharp claws. Was this the Exodiac Caestu? My whole body burst with an intense red aura as a malevolent smile grew on my face. I stared at the distressed Tenebris.

"Now…witness the true power of the Exodiac Caestu!" I screamed.

I quickly dash towards Tenebris and attacked swiftly as Tenebris was stunned on every attack since he couldn't fight back. My body took control again as I took out my swords and flew up to the night sky. I pointed my swords at Tenebris as I flew down and attacked him by swirling at him. I jumped back down to the ground. Tenebris was groaning with pain as I figured he had enough.

"You…the next time we meet, I will make certain of your death!" Tenebris said, coughing up some blood.

Tenebris slowly raised his hand and summoned a dark portal as he walked through it. Everyone who was in the castle rushed towards me and cheered with joy. I noticed that all the Karais were gone, and that everything was back to normal. My armour suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, and I was back to my original self. I looked around to see the Crimson was also gone, and I wondered what just happened. I saw Gawain and the King approach me. I knelled down as I grew nervous.

"Gawain may have failed to notify the other knights about their duty, but you…you took on the Karais on your own, and you even managed to defeat Tenebris, the Karais King of Darkness." The King announced.

"Yes, thank you, your majesty. But Gawain didn't fail, I was simply the distraction that caused him to forget about informing the knights." I said boldly.

"Is that so?" the King asked.

There was a moment of silence as everyone awaited the decision of the King on what to do.

"Andros was it?" the King asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"The Esordio Festival marks the beginning of Vestrill with the legend of Neo and the three spirits. Many centuries ago, Neo became the savior of the worlds who will one day cast away the chaos in the World of Oblivion, and he received the powers of a Spirit, along with the six elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Light, and Darkness to aid him. Neo found a way to unify with his Spirit in a process called Unification; fusing the mind, body, and soul with that of a Spirit. One day, the Karais overran the World of Oblivion and plunged chaos upon the worlds. Neo, of course, was there to save the worlds. The Karais are also based off the six elements, as you have witness; so do the spirits. There were also six leaders of each element for the Karais, who were called the Karais Kings, one of them, you have just battled. Tenebris is the next Karais King of Darkness. Neo defeated the Karais Kings and restored order to Vestrill. After he had won, he became obsessed with power and he became corrupted. He destroyed Vestrill as his lust for power took over. He killed all in sight; children even. Neo, wanting to increase his power, he split his powers into three spirits: Crimson, Saga, and Solaris. Crimson wielded the Exodiac Caestu, Saga wielded the Zetsurin Caestu, and Solaris wielded the Sevaritas Caestu. Crimson was fire and darkness while Saga was light and water and Solaris was air and earth. These three spirits were the first three legendary spirits known as the Esordio Spirits, or Neo Spirits. Neo wanted to unify with all three spirits for more power, but once the spirits realized what he has done, they trapped him using their own powers, but they too were trapped within the Esordio Caestus, or the Neo Gauntlets. With the last of their power, the spirits chose the three heroes of destiny and hid themselves, with their powers, within the person's soul. You, Andros, are destined for greatness. It would be an honor for one of the legendary heroes to serve me. Andros! I, King Basileus, knight you as a Guardian Spirit of Vestrill!" the King announced.

Everyone cheered as I still kept kneeling. Gawain shined a smile as I slowly rose up.

"Me? A Guardian Spirit?" I asked, excited.

"Yes. Are you staying somewhere?" the King asked.

"No, I didn't get to settle in anywhere." I said.

"There is some room left for one more person. So would you like to stay at the castle with your new team?" the King asked.

"Team?" I asked confused.

"If you are truly the hero, you are more than capable of leading your own elite team. You also mark the completion of my Elite Guardian Spirits Unit." The King said proudly.

I saw Gawain walk forward with four more people as they all bowed down before me. I was enjoying the moment, but was also nervous.

"Um, rise?" I said confused.

A girl with long blond hair who was wearing a white dress stood up. She had blue eyes, and a smile quickly grew on my face.

"This is Secelia, Elite Knight of Light, and former leader of the elite team. She is also my daughter. You touch her, you die." The King announced.

Gawain stood up.

"This is Gawain, as you already know. He is the Elite Knight of Air." The King announced.

Another girl stood up. She was wearing a black dress and had brown hair with black eyes.

"This is Mare, Elite Knight of Water." The King announced.

A boy my age stood up. He had red, spiky hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a crimson red scarf and casual clothing.

"This is Ignis, Elite Knight of Fire." The King announced.

I stood, still confused how I became the new leader of an elite team. Another boy my age stood up. He had spiky brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a shoulder plate.

"And this is Orbis, Elite Knight of Earth." The King announced.

"I can't be the leader. I may be one of the three heroes, but I'm not that well skilled yet. So I'd like to be just a regular in the team and let Secelia still be the leader." I said boldly.

"Very well. Now, get settled in, it is already night fall, and we must continue the ball!" The King yelled.

The King led me inside the castle and showed me my room while everyone else got back to the King's Ball. I looked around. There wasn't much furniture in here. There was a desk to do whatever work I get next to a bed to sleep in, a map pasted onto the wall, maybe for a battle strategy? And a window that gives the view of all of Vestrill. It was all beautiful. There was a wardrobe, and as I opened it, I saw that there were clothes in there, and coincidentally, it fitted me. I quickly changed, and headed towards the door. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me.

"Well done Andros. You managed to save Vestrill and summon Crimson." The voice said.

I turned around to see it was the same young man I had seen earlier.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You can call me Chronos. Consider me as an ally for now." Chronos announced.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Your memories seem to have taken a form that is tangible." Chronos announced.

"Tangible?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, they appear to be in the shape of a shard, like those of a broken mirror." Chronos said.

"Mirror?" I asked.

"Think of memories as a mirror. They reflect who and what you are, but when something traumatic happens, the mirror is shattered into shards. In your case, it's literal." Chronos announced.

I stared with a blank expression at Chronos. If what he says is true, could I still have a chance of getting my memories back? Chronos tossed a shard at me. And I stared at it. He also tossed a picture, and disappeared into the air, like he was never there. I looked at the shard, and then the picture. The picture looked like me when I was a young boy, and standing next to me looked like my dad? I went to the bed and stared at it. I put the picture down on the desk, and took a look at the shard. When I took a closer look, I saw that there were images moving in the shard, or were they memories? I figured if my memories did somehow took the form of shards, I need to find them all, and put them all together, and also to find out what happened to me…


	2. Destinies Intervene

**Guardian Spirits Chapter 2: Destinies Intervene **

"We must protect Andros at all times. Losing him is not an option. He is the key between the Worlds of Light and Oblivion, so if he is indeed taken away from life, our plan will be futile. Also, if anyone here disagrees to this or plans to harm the "subject" in the future, you will be punished severely. Now, the next step precision. Every move we make from this point must be precise or the success of our plan will be depleted. Our next enemy, the prime knights. As you all know the Council of the Prime Knights consists of six people, each bearing an element; unfortunately, one of their members has been killed by Savalas unexpectedly. So this leaves a blank spot in the prime knights, and we all know that the Council of the Prime Knights only consists of the top six elite knights. As Andros' skill and power increases, he will be asked to join the ranks of the prime knights."

It was morning as I walked down the hallway and made a left turn at a door and then went down the stairs. This was the way the King showed me to my room, and I simply reversed it to go back to the place where the ball was. As I kept walking, Chronos appeared before me. I stopped walking and stood still.

"Come on man! What do you want from me? It's only morning!" I yelled.

"Destinies Intervene." Chronos announced.

"Now that I think about it, you said that same thing yesterday and Crimson said that too. Whose destinies?" I asked.

"Yours and Sora's." Chronos replied.

"Sora?" I asked, confused.

"The worlds have been reawaked and their gateways can now be accessed with the Exodiac Caestu. You and Sora each have a destiny. Yours is here in the World of Oblivion, and Sora's destiny is in the World of Light." Chronos said.

"The Exodiac Caestu…" I said.

I summoned the gauntlet alone as it appeared on my right hand. I stared at it for a while until I looked up again to see that Chronos was still there.

"If you want to find your memory shards, they are scattered throughout the worlds in the Worlds of Light and Oblivion. It's up to you where you want to start." Chronos said.

"Last night, you gave me a picture with the memory shard. Who is that?" I asked unsure.

"That's you and your father." Chronos replied.

"How are you sure?" I asked.

"Because I know you, and I am an ally, for now." Chronos replied.

I walked away from Chronos as the thought of my dad crawled into. A tear fell from my right eye as I thought about what could've happened in the past. Why my father is no longer with me, and why I'm traveling.

"Is there a reason for all this? If I want to find out, I need to go, but if I leave without telling the King…no, the King doesn't need to know. This is my chance and I'm going to take it." I thought inside.

I calmed the body and loosened the muscles as I let my body take over my next move. I raised my right arm with the Exodiac Caestu and scratched the air with its claws. Suddenly I saw a portal of intense light open up as I proceeded with caution. When I walked through to the other side of the portal, I saw that I crossed over to a gateway that Chronos told me about. When I looked up, I looked like I was in space, and when I looked around, everything looked normal. There were many holes that led to nowhere; it was just space. I saw meteors as I continued walking in this new land. At the opposite side of where I was I saw another portal. I quickly ran towards it, but suddenly all the rocks in the area started to move and come together to form a monster. I was scared but remembered about the unification process.

"Unification!" I yelled.

Black and crimson armour flashed onto me. I expanded my wings and summoned my swords. The rock monster threw boulders at me as I dodged them; still continuing to move forward towards the gate.

"Crimson, any ideas on how to get through this one?" I asked.

"This is the Astral Gateway. That "rock monster" as you call it, is probably the guard for the world that lies beyond that other portal." Crimson replied.

"Yeah thanks, that's very helpful." I said sarcastically.

I rushed towards the rock monster and attempted a slash with my sword, but upon impact I fell.

"Damn! I can't damage it!" I yelled.

The rock monster stood still as I thought of another plan. I dashed forward and went for a punch with my Exodiac Caestu, but it failed when the rock monster didn't budge. Suddenly the rock monster stepped aside. I saw that the rock monster was looking at my gauntlet.

"I see now. The gauntlet is the access, literally." I said to myself.

I walked slowly towards the portal and walked through with caution. When I got to the other side, I appeared to be on an island, and was standing at a point where I could see everything. It was night and I saw a full moon, along with a storm. It was raining and I saw three rowboats by a dock. I walked around through the cold air and observed the area. Beyond the island was only an ocean, nothing else in sight. I caught sight of a huge dark aura across a bridge. I quickly ran towards it and saw a boy there. He had brown, spiky hair and he was holding a key shaped sword or some sort. I stared in awe at the magnificent weapon. The handle of the sword was gold and the blade itself looked unbreakable. I looked at where the boy was facing and saw a huge black monster. I quickly rushed towards the boy and I got ready.

"Unification!" I yelled.

The armour flashed onto me as the boy stood still, not even moving a muscle.

"Hey kid, let me handle this." I said.

"No! Riku! Kairi!" the boy screamed out.

"Calm down. For now, we got to fight this thing!" I yelled.

The boy's expression suddenly changed as he did a battle stance as I did.

"Let's do this! Ikou ze!" I screamed out.

The boy jumped onto the arm of the monster as he ran up to the face and attacked. I stayed down on the ground as small black creatures started to appear and surrounded us. I took out the small creatures and then jumped onto the huge monster as I stabbed my sword into its arm. Blood squirted out as I jumped backwards onto the ground. I summoned Crimson out into the field as a tornado of fire burst and the wings of the mighty dragons rose. I saw that Crimson and the huge black monster were at the same height and I commanded Crimson to attack the monster. The boy jumped down to the ground and attacked the leg and the monster fell down to the ground. Suddenly, the monster quickly rose up and knocked Crimson down. As it stood up, I noticed that there was a hole in its chest as it started to generate dark balls of energy and launched it at us. I dodged the attack and hurled forward and attacked with my sword. My reflexes took over as I summoned two swords and jumped up and attacked the monster at the same time while twirling. I managed to get to the face and I somehow generated a fire ball with my hand and shot it at close distance and fell back down to the ground. I looked at the boy, since I was worn out and it was all up to him now. The boy jumped all over the place but managed to land a hit with every jump. My body took over once again as I had no control. I rushed towards the monster and with my two swords, I jumped and attacked by jumping through the monster; cutting it in half as blood spurted out. I was covered in blood as the boy stood; looking up at the sky as the monster suddenly disappeared and turned into a black hole, sucking me and the boy into it.

"Hold on!" I screamed.

I held onto the tree as the boy held onto his sword by thrusting it into the ground. The tree I was holding onto suddenly lifted up into the air as I thought quickly and thrust my sword towards the ground. I activated my wings, without knowing it, as I started to gain gravity once again. I slowly moved my feet to the ground and made my way towards the ground. Suddenly, the boy lost his grip, and he flew away, with his sword, towards the black hole. I tried to reach him, but lost my grip and followed his path. Everything went black as we went in. As I started to regain conscience, I noticed that I was in a city now. I looked to my right and saw that the boy was still knocked out. A yellow dog with long black ears approached us as it ran towards the boy started licking his face. The boy woke up and started to laugh as he quickly stood up.

"Hey, what's you name kid?" I asked.

"I'm not a kid! And it's Sora." Sora answered.

"Okay Sora, what happened?" I asked.

"I don't know. It just appeared when I was looking for my friends." Sora replied.

I stood up and noticed that we were in an ally. Sora and I walked out of the ally and saw the city with lights.

"Traverse Town." I said.

"What?" Sora asked.

I don't know. It just slipped out of my mouth like I knew it. I kept walking forward until I came up upon a shop. I walked in, along with Sora to see an old man behind the counter.

"How you doing? The name's Cid. Need help with anything?" Cid asked.

"Have you seen my friends? Riku and Kairi. Riku has long gray hair and green eyes and Kairi has red hair and blue eyes." Sora announced.

"Nope, sorry. If I do I'll notify you." Cid replied.

Sora looked down to the floor with disappointment as I approached him to calm him down.

"Don't worry, you'll find them." I said, ensuring him that everything is going to be all right.

We walked outside and stood still as I looked around. Chronos appeared in front of me and Sora.

"So, you chose to go into the World of Light first? Not a bad start. But do keep in mind that the time zones differ between worlds. Whereas you could be gone for two hours in one world, you can be gone for five years in another world." Chronos said.

"What? So now you tell me. What's the difference between this world and Vestrill?" I asked.

"Vestrill is in the World of Oblivion. You see, the World of Light and the World of Oblivion has their own unique worlds. You've just been to two of the unique worlds in the World of Light. Destiny Islands and now, Traverse Town." Chronos informed.

"I see, interesting, but I meant the time zones." I announced.

"I can't tell you that. You like a good mystery, figure it out on your own." Chronos said, laughing.

"I like a good mystery?" I thought to myself.

I looked back at Sora as he was looking at me with a black expression.

"Uh wait, Chronos." I called out.

"Yes?" Chronos asked.

"Chronos is the titan of time. So I need to know. How much do you know about me? And how do I know that you weren't the one who messed with my memories?" I asked, suspicious of Chronos.

"As I said. You like a good mystery; find out yourself." Chronos replied.

Chronos suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. I looked back at Sora as he had a confused look on his face. A man with long black hair with a weird shaped sword ran towards us.

"The Keyblade wielder." The man said.

"What?" I asked.

"So, the Keyblade chose a kid like you? How pathetic. I expected more from universe!" the man exclaimed.

A girl with short black hair ran towards us too.

"Leon! Heartless!" the girl yelled.

"What? Get these two to the safe house now!" The man yelled.

We quickly followed the girl to the safe house. When we finally arrived, she locked the doors and turned to look at us.

"Hi?" I said.

The girl laughed and started to speak: "Hi. I'm Yuffie and that man you saw earlier was Leon."

Sora looked confuse. He summoned his Keyblade and stared at it.

"The Keyblade…" I said.

"Yep, that's right! The legendary weapon." Yuffie said.

"Just like the Exodiac Caestu…" I thought to myself.

"Destinies Intervene." I said aloud.

Yuffie and Sora looked at me, confused.

"Nothing." I said.

Leon knocked on the door as we opened the door to let him in.

"There's too many heartless. There's enough to plunge this world into darkness." Leon said.

"But sometimes, the darkness is the answer." I said.

"Who are you?" Leon asked.

"I'm Andros, and this is Sora, the Keyblade master." I replied.

"Ah yes. You know, that Keyblade works as a beacon of some sort to attract the heartless, so where ever you are, you'll be ambushed by groups of heartless." Leon said.

"Heartless…hey, Sora. That huge black monster thingy that attacked us; do you think that was also a heartless?" I asked.

"Maybe." Sora replied.

I walked towards the door and opened it to take a look at the condition.

"There seems to be something out of place here…Leon. You said the heartless are attracted to the Keyblade, so would it be possible to lead them out of this world?" I asked.

"Possible, but how are we going to do that?" Leon asked.

"I don't know! I'm just improvising and making stuff up as we go along." I answered.

I walked outside and closed the door behind me. I looked straight forward and saw there were stairs leading down into the center of town and apparently, also to the heartless. I quickly went back inside and looked at all the others with a scared expression.

"Sora! Get out here right now!" I screamed.

Sora and I quickly got outside where the situation was worsening quickly. Sora quickly ran down the steps into the center of town as I followed behind him. When we got to the center, the heartless surrounded us with no way out. I tried to look for an opening, but there was too much heartless. Sora went ahead to fight the heartless on my right side as I started to go for the heartless on the left. It took us some time since heartless kept popping up all over the place, but we managed to defeat them all. We were out of breath so we took a while to rest until more heartless popped up.

"Damn! There's no use! We have to retreat!" I yelled.

Sora and I tried to go back to the house, but the heartless surrounded us once again. I attacked with a dash as I kept moving forward, but Sora was left behind attacking the rest of the heartless after they surrounded him completely. I quickly turned back towards the heartless and fought my way through to the center where Sora was. We stood back to back as we looked out for each other. The heartless suddenly got out of control and attacked all out surroundings as we tried to maintain the area, but failed.

"There has to be a source…" I thought to myself.

Suddenly there was a huge blast of light as all the heartless disappeared. Sora and I quickly made our way back into the house before more appeared. I quickly slammed the door behind me as I pressed my back against the door.

"Okay, so we know there's an unlimited amount of heartless there. You sure you can't give the Keyblade to someone—" I stopped talking.

The Keyblade had suddenly appeared into my hand as I was talking. Sora stared in shock as he got the Keyblade back into his own hands. We kept testing this by sending it back and forth to each other. My mouth opened a little, which I hoped no one saw, as I was amazed that I too could use the Keyblade.

"Hey…guys? Is this even possible?" I asked.

"No! That is impossible! Two Keyblade wielders?" Leon exclaimed.

Yuffie kept silent as she watched the conversation by sitting on the bed.

"As I was saying, there has to be a source somewhere." I announced.

The door opened as Cid walked in. He looked like he was nervous about something and looked pale and weak like he had encountered something.

"Cid…are you okay?" I asked.

"You have to go my shop, now." Cid announced.

Sora and I exchanged glares as we quickly went outside. Everything looked darker than the last time we were out here. I looked up the sky and saw a huge heartless looking over us. Sora and I quickly ran towards the shop to see what Cid had encountered. When we got there, Chronos stood there facing away from us. He was standing next to another man who had long black hair and wore a red coat with black spikes at the bottom. Chronos turned around.

"Destinies Intervene. You, Andros, are interfering with Sora's destiny to become the Keyblade master. As you can see, this world is being destroyed. If you want to know the reason, it is because you have gone to this world. But you still have a chance to save it. Prove to me that you are worthy!" Chronos announced.

My gauntlet suddenly started to glow blue, like electricity was going through it. My body took over as I slashed the air with my gauntlet and a portal opened up. I ran inside as Sora followed behind me. Once we got onto the Astral Road, there was a huge heartless. I had just noticed the heartless insignia which was an incomplete heart as I stared at it, amazed. Sora looked around, confused about where we were. The heartless plunged its fists towards us as we dodged it. I went forward for an attack, but it knocked me down in one hit.

"Unification! All right! Let's do this! IKOU ZE!" I yelled out.

I spread my wings and flew up high to the height of the heartless' head and went in for an attack with my two swords while managing to dodge all its attack. Suddenly meteors started to fall towards Sora and I as we were hit with a bunch of them. I covered my head with my right arm as I tried to move forward and keep in flight at the same time. A meteor hit me directly as I lost balance and more meteors hit me. I fell to the ground and took some damage. Sora quickly jumped from one area to the next, dodging the meteors with luck as he proceeded further with each jump. He finally reached the leg as he went for an attack with his Keyblade. He kept striking the leg until the heartless stomped onto the ground as Sora flew back towards me. I stood up with all my strength as I summoned Crimson into the field. I jumped onto Crimson as Sora stood, amazed by the colorful Crimson.

"Attack!" I yelled.

"Whoa! This is not Pokémon! So if you're going to ask me to attack, I recommend you ask normally." Crimson announced.

"Attack?" I asked.

Crimson suddenly rushed forward towards the heartless and spread his wings as he flew up and went in for an attack with his sharp wings. He repeated the process until the heartless grew weak and collapsed on to his knees, and Sora went towards his head and attacked with his Keyblade. Until finally, the heatless slowly disappeared into the thin air. The battle was over as I jumped down from Crimson. Crimson went back inside the gauntlet and I thanked Sora for helping me fight the Heartless. A portal of light opened before us as I slowly walked towards it with Sora behind me. Once we were through, we were back into Traverse Town and I looked up at the sky as everything appeared to be back to normal, if this is normal. Cid and the others waited in front of the shop as we approached them.

"Congrats." Leon said with no emotion.

"That's all we get? A congrats?" I asked.

"Don't worry, on the inside, Leon is actually jumping up and down with joy." Yuffie announced.

"Shut up Yuffie!" Leon exclaimed.

Sora and I laughed as we looked at the two bicker. Cid came forward to congratulate us on saving Traverse Town from the heartless.

"So, Sora, you really are the Keyblade master huh? Give me a favor would you? Save all the worlds from the heartless." Cid said.

"You got it!" Sora exclaimed.

There were two figures walking towards us from the right. One appeared to be a white duck wearing blue uniform and holding a staff while the other appeared to be a dog with long black ears and a knight's mask as a hat. They approached us.

"Leon! Do you know where the Keyblade master could be?" the duck asked.

Sora summoned the Keyblade in front of them as their eyes cried with joy.

"Ahh! We found you! We have to go now! The world's borders are opened and we have to close them again." The duck said.

"Sora. This is Donald and Goofy. You should go with them if you see other worlds out there." Leon announced.

"Hello Sora." Donald said.

"Well hello there!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Other worlds? Really?" Sora asked.

"We have a space ship that we use called the Gummi Ship. We use it to travel through worlds." Donald replied.

Sora turned to look at me and smiled.

"Riku! Kairi! I'll find you! I promise!" Sora exclaimed.

Suddenly, the Keyblade appeared and shined a golden light. A silver glow came out of the Keyblade as it came towards me. I reached out my hand as it landed into the palm of my hand.

"Two down…" I thought to myself.

Suddenly a portal opened behind me.

"Well, I guess my time is over here. Sora, good luck! And goody bye!" I yelled.

I walked into the portal as I was back at the Astral Gateway. I saw that there was a new road open, but decided to go back to Vestrill. I went through the portal that led to Vestrill as I appeared in my room. I walked outside and to the King's throne room. When I got there, the King quickly stood up as he came towards me.

"Where in hell's name have you been? It's been three weeks ever since I saw you." The King said angrily.

"Three weeks? Sorry, I got called in by some friends to help out with a problem, and I thought it would be best to not tell you since I expected it to be fixed in a few hours, but I guess I was wrong." I announced.

"Go outside to the Court Yard, everyone is waiting for you." The King said.

I did as he told and made my way towards the Court Yard, where everyone was waiting. They all came up to greet me. Gawain stepped up towards me.

"It's night time already and you missed three weeks of work! And here I was thinking you were responsible enough for your duty." Gawain said heavily.

Secelia came up to me.

"You should be ashamed of yourself for abandoning your own team." Secelia announced.

"Hey! I didn't abandon you guys, and this is your team!" I yelled.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed." Secelia said as she walked away.

Everyone else went to their rooms as did I since I had nothing else to do. I placed my Memory Shards down on the table in my room as I looked at the second one glow.

"Two down…" I said aloud.

Meanwhile in the Court Yard where the King and a figure are playing chess.

"Hello my King."

"The boy was gone for three weeks. So he did go search for his Memory Shards" the King said.

"It appears that he has two now, and someone may be aiding him."

"How about Chronos?" the King asked.

"Possible, but I'll keep watch and he is probably back at the castle right now since his mission has been accomplished. I'll make sure that my plan goes well, and you make sure that your plan goes well."

"Is that so…I recommend we keep ourselves low. The boy has no memory of us, but he still have his brain; he is smarter and deadlier than he looks." The King said.

"Very well. Keep in mind "King" that Zeronos is only aiding you because we, too, want Andros but later in the future, we will fight. We are going in opposite directions, King. Make sure you pick the right moves, or you might just lose. Checkmate."


	3. Echoes

**Guardian Spirits Chapter 3: Echoes**

"The warrior approached the mighty spirit with hopes of defeating it…but soon perished with the echoes of the past…"—The Legend of Esordio.

There was the sound of thunder and lightning as I made my way towards the King's throne. The King had summoned me to his presence to discuss my mission for the night, and for some reason, he wants me to finish it by tonight. I wondered what the mission could be and how important it was for me to finish it in this weather, and especially at night. When I finally got to the throne room, I bowed down before him until he told me to rise and to take a seat. I did as he told me to and waited for him to speak.

"Andros. This mission is very special and I want you, the Exodiac Caestu's wielder, to see to it that this mission is accomplished. It is of importance that you do not tell the other elite knights about this since I do not want danger to come their way, but I'm only giving you this mission because I believe that you can do it. Keep in mind that no matter what happens, stay calm and don't be afraid." The King announced.

"Okay my King, but what is this mission? From the way you're telling me this, it sounds…secretive." I asked.

"That is because it is. Are you familiar with the Legend of the Echoes?" the King asked.

"I've heard of it before, but I never actually heard the story." I replied.

"An intriguing story; it is said that this story was made during Neo's generation." The King informed.

"So…" I said.

"Neo had organized an army of warriors at this point in the story, just like the knights we have today, and the day came when each warrior disappeared one by one. Each disappeared under mysterious circumstances; nothing was left behind by someone or something that did this. Neo commanded his knights to investigate what has been happening, and then during the investigation, the kingdom's people started to disappear! It is said that one warrior found the source, but the information on what the source was, was destroyed, unfortunately. The warrior that found the source tried to vanquish it, and this is where it gets intriguing, the legend mentions the warrior disappeared within the sound of a voice that echoed through the walls of Vestrill. Everyone heard it, including Neo, as they all rushed to where the voice came from. When they got there, everyone saw the gruesome sight of a spirit that gave the appearance of some sort of ghost. Since then, the people called it the Echoes of the Past to signify the spirit who haunts the Kingdom of Vestrill from its past. It is used by most of the people to scare their children to not go outside during nightfall, and especially on days such as this." The King announced.

A part of me grew nervous and scared as if I had a bad feeling of what was to come later. My lips shivered with fear as I tried to ask what the mission was.

"W-What is the mission that you wish to assign, King?" I asked, scared of what the answer would be.

"Two nights ago, the day when this storm started, some of our knights have disappeared, and there have been reports of an echo that has been going throughout Vestrill. You are one of the legendary heroes of the Esordio Caestus, and since I don't want danger to come to any the knights, I want you to look into this." The King announced.

"But why do I have to do the mission tonight? And finish it by tonight when I can do it in the morning's sun?" I asked.

"If the legend is true, then on the third night, the echoes will stop and the cause of it will be gone until another few centuries." The King replied.

"Great, so you gave me the goose bumps, and I have to find the source in this wretched storm. Did I also mention it was also a full moon? The night of the full moon is when the dark forces' powers are at its zenith." I informed.

"Yes it is, now get to it while the night is still young. And Andros, do be careful, so far the legend has proven itself to be true." The King informed.

I walked back to my room to retrieve the uniform that the King had given me a few weeks ago. I decided to put it on to show a sign of respect, just in case I die. The uniform was pure white with some black stripes and black buttons. There was also a hood attached to it along with a collar. It looked like an over coat, and it probably is except more fashionable in my opinion. On the back was the Guardian Spirits insignia which basically looked like a gauntlet. Along with the uniform was also a pair of white gloves with black stripes and white boots with some black spots. I looked out at the window to see that the storm was coming down hard, and I still had plenty of time left so I quickly got dressed and made my way out into the Court Yard. My hair started to get wet as I quickly ran through the rain, but I remembered something, and I went back to the throne room.

"Left, left, right, straight, and you'll arrive at the door. I can see you're wearing your uniform. Proceed with your mission." The King said, chuckling.

I went back to the Court Yard and ran through the rain until I arrived at the gate. I opened the gate and continued. I stopped walking as I realized I didn't know where to begin. Maybe by questioning the people? I went with my gut feeling as I went to the nearest house and knocked on it. There was no answer so I knocked one more time again to make sure. The door swung open to reveal a rather short man with a beard and black hair.

"Excuse me sir, have you heard an echo of some sort?" I asked.

Suddenly, I heard a voice echoing throughout Vestrill.

"Sorry for the intrusion." I said hastily.

I quickly followed the sound, but lost it when the echo bounced off the walls. I got confused yet I still kept running, but running where? The air suddenly got colder as I approached a wall, and I followed the current of air to see where it led. I slowly walked with caution as I took careful steps on the ground. There was a loud thunder clap and a flash of lightning above me as I moved out of the way. I saw a flash of blue light and a scream beyond the other side of the wall as I jumped over it, but when I got to the other side, there was nothing. I looked around the area; the place was very narrow since there was another wall parallel to it and there was an intersection at a point so the only way to get around it is to walk the long way. The rain suddenly picked up as I decided to put on my hood on and continue investigating what had happened.

"I know that I heard a scream along with an echo of a wailing voice and I'm sure that it came from this specific spot, so what happened?" I asked myself.

I walked cautiously around the area as I observed the perimeter carefully. There were a few broken glass shards on the ground and a few burned marks on the ground, probably from the lightning. I thought about the blue flash of light that appeared before the screaming, and thought about the lightning.

"It could be possible that the lightning caused this, but lightning doesn't just make people disappear…does it?" I asked, unsure.

I heard a beeping noise coming from my uniform as I looked to my right arm and saw a glowing red light. I reached my left hand towards it as a screen pooped up with the King's face on it.

"Okay, what is this?" I asked.

"I installed a communication device on everyone's uniform so that we can all stay connected. If you would have agreed to wearing it sooner, you would have known that, and you would have also known that the material in that uniform is made out of thousands and millions of tiny little Nano bots, so that the uniform cannot be damaged, and if it is cut, it can repair itself. The Nano bots are also controlling the communication device. Cool, right?" the King asked.

"I thought this was the time of the middle ages." I replied.

"Oh no, it appears to be like that, but in this world, while everything appears to be from the middle ages, it's actually modern. We have our own enhanced technology, just like the other worlds have their own unique technology." The King said.

"Interesting. I assume that you have a lab of some sort to scan different materials?" I asked.

"Yes, in fact, our lab is one of the most hi-tech." the King replied.

"Okay. Can lightning possibly be a factor of the disappearance of your knights?" I asked.

"No, not possible, unless there was a source that was using the lightning. Why do you ask?" the King wondered.

"A person just disappeared while I was investigating. I heard a scream, the echo, and I saw a flash of blue light. I think the blue light is the lightning. What if the source was the thing that produced the echo and the echo just used the lightning to amplify the wave causing a mass sound that can be heard all over Vestrill. So how can people disappear with a shock of lightning with no traces left behind and what has this kind of power?" I asked.

"Yes that is possible; is there anything in particular that seems off? And I'll look into it." The King replied.

I looked around one more time and saw some marks on the walls; like lines. I looked closely and saw that they were lines but they were actually small black dots, or was it a type of bacteria? I saw that there was a lot of it on the walls and on the ground were some faded footsteps; the rain had washed some of the mud away. I closely examined it and then stood up to the position the where the person stood before he/she disappeared. When I looked up again, I was facing the wall. There was nothing else to go on. I jumped up and onto a roof where I examined the ground for anyone or anything that looks suspicious. I saw a white figure walk through a wall as I grew nervous. I dashed towards where it was heading and hid behind a wall to observe it. It looked like a ghostly image; like it was there, yet at the same time, it isn't.

There were some red spots on the ghostly image, like that was blood. Suddenly, lightning fell from the sky and to the ground where the ghostly image stood. I heard a wail as it echoed through Vestrill. I covered my ears as I approached the figure with the sound waves increasing. It suddenly turned around and moved towards me quickly; quicker than the speed of light as it went through me. I suddenly collapsed as I got dizzy and my eye lids got heavier. My last sight was my communicator being activated and a flash of light as my eyes dropped slowly, like how a feather slowly falls to the ground, and there was only darkness.

When I regained conscious, I noticed that I was in the same place as before. I stood up and looked at the communicator and saw that the signal was being jammed. I stared it awe as I noticed that when I moved, I saw all the movement I made as it moved through the air slowly; it was as if time was slower. I tried to walk but a strange sensation crawled into my head as I started to get dizzy and collapse backwards. I saw a wall behind me and I thought that it would cushion the fall but instead, I fell through the wall and onto the ground like the wall wasn't even there. I slowly stood up and slowly touched the wall as my hand went through it.

I was stunned at what just happened and thought to myself: "Am I dead?"

I walked around as everything started to move slower and slower as my head felt like it was on fire. I checked my communicator to contact the King, but I noticed that the communicator was fried. I looked around to see what had happened and I tried to touch the wall again, but my hand went through. I walked through the wall completely as my heart beat rose. I noticed I was on my own and that I needed to figure out a way to be tangible again, if I wasn't dead that is.

I stood still as the rain drops went through me, and asked myself: "What happened to me?"

"Gawain, Mare, Ignis, Orbis, and Secelia." The King called out.

"Why did you call us?" Orbis asked.

"I sent Andros on a field mission to investigate the Legend of the Echoes. I tried to contact him, and it has been hours ever since the last time he picked up. I'm afraid something could have gone wrong, so I need all of you to go and help him." The King informed.

"Wait. The Legend of the Echoes? The one where knights keep disappearing at the sound of a wailing echo? That's nothing more than a children's story!" Ignis argued.

"Well, Ignis. Look around you. There are spirits, demons, and knights who can fuse themselves with spirits. There is nothing in this world that can be counted as a mere children's story. As of this moment, be cautious and anything is possible. You have until dawn to find Andros and to find out what happened." The King said.

"But you sent Andros on a field mission alone? Especially in this weather? Daddy, I mean, King, this is Andros' first field mission. Are you sure you made the right decision?" Secelia asked, concerned.

"The more time you all spend asking me question, the less time we have of finding out what happened to Andros. Now, leave." The King declared.

"Very well, Sir." Gawain said.

"Gawain. You stay." The King commanded.

"Is there something wrong?" Gawain asked.

"Do you remember Project Pegasus?" the King asked.

"Of course. Why? You don't think…" Gawain replied.

"Yes. It is a possibility, so be cautious. If it is what we think it is, then this is beyond our control." The King informed.

"Very well. I will look into it, and I will make sure no one else finds out. If someone does find out though, I will make sure they are silenced." Gawain announced.

I went back to the wall and stayed there. I wondered if the King had noticed I was gone and sent back help.

"I'll know soon enough. But for now, I need to keep looking, even if I can't touch anything." I said aloud.

I walked around to see if lightning was involved before I collapsed and lost consciousness. I looked at the ground at the spot I collapsed and saw a burned mark on it. I saw that lightning was involved, but what about the figure I saw? What made it move so fast? And how did it go past me?

"It could've been someone like me. I'm intangible so I can go through objects, so what if the lightning hit me? Would I be visible for a few seconds?" I thought to myself.

"Crimson!" I called out.

There was no reply as I tried again: "Crimson!"

There was no reply yet again. I tried to summon the Exodiac Caestu, but it didn't work.

"Damn it! Exodiac Caestu! Crimson!" I yelled.

Nothing seemed to appear as I stood still, stunned. I saw five shadows coming my way. I saw Gawain as he approached the wall to examine it. I quickly went to him.

"Gawain!" I called out.

He turned around for a few seconds and then turned back to the wall. It appeared as if he couldn't see me.

"So my theory of the thing that attacked me using lightning to be visible can be possible, and theoretically, if I do the same, I can contact Gawain. Although if I do that, the effects might not be the same. I'll need something to attract lightning for about a minute to actually be visible or else it'll just be a flash." I said aloud.

I looked around to see if I could use anything to attract lightning, or at least stand next to something that can attract lightning. I saw Mare, Ignis, Orbis, and Secelia come up behind Gawain. I remembered how Secelia was the Elite Guardian Spirit of Light, and wondered if I could use her ability to make myself visible long enough to tell them.

"Even if I could, how do I do that? There is no way for me to get in contact with Secelia." I thought to myself.

"Mare! Orbis! Ignis! Anyone?" I yelled desperately.

It appeared I was on my own with no resources to turn to. I don't have Crimson, nor do I have the others' help. I was in a deadlock with no way out and had no idea what to do. This was a desperate time, and the saying goes "Desperate times call for desperate measure" but what is the desperate measure? I screamed out as a bolt of lightning struck the ground. I quickly looked at it and ran towards it. Time was slower wherever I am at so I needed to hurry before the bolt of lightning disappeared. Suddenly the ghostly image I saw appeared once again and headed towards the lightning bolt. We both raced for it until finally, the ghostly image reached the lightning and knocked me down. I looked at it as it appeared to be visible to the others.

I turned to look at them and saw their stares. The figure dashed towards Secelia as I quickly ran towards her and caught up to the figure and jumped in front of it. Secelia let out a scream as the figure and I were only a few inches away from her. I grunted as I tried to resist the pain of being jolted and tried to push the figure away. I saw another lightning bolt strike the ground as my surrounding suddenly filled with lightning bolts everywhere. I wondered what was going on as more of the figures appeared around me. Everyone stared at me as I was screaming in pain and Secelia quickly jumped in between and knocked the figure away from me. I fell to the ground and grunted as Secelia came up to me and helped me up.

I figured I was visible again and when I looked up again, I saw the other figures emerging from the lightning as the six of us formed a circle and got ready for anything that is to come next. All the figures became visible and dashed towards us.

"Hey! The first time we all ever fought together. Let's make this memorable!" Ignis declared.

"All right!" Orbis yelled.

"The wind stops for no one, and it keeps flowing until disaster strikes and then it turns into a ravaging tornado!" Gawain announced.

"The water may appear calm, but in reality it is more deadly than you can ever imagine!" Mare announced.

"I'll show you the way to light!" Secelia screamed.

"I know you're all having a dramatic moment here, but seriously? Are these all your catch phrases? Well, don't answer yet; we have to deal with these things first." I announced.

"Way to ruin the moment." Orbis yelled out.

"Never ruined it. All right! Let's do this! Ikou Ze!" I yelled out.

I tried to summon Crimson, but instead of Crimson, it was a different spirit. It was deep black with some blue lines glowing on its body. It had red eyes and had spiky fur. My Exodiac Caestu started to shine a blue light and suddenly changed form as well as color. It turned black and glowed a luminous blue light. All the others went ahead started to fight the figures while I stayed behind and wondered what happened.

"No. There's no time to think; the others need help." I said to myself.

The spirit roared as it revealed its black wings and spread them.

"I am Necros." Necros said.

"Andros. All right, we need to go fight, now." I declared.

I ran towards the others as the spirit flew towards them at incredible speed like a lightning bolt. The rain got worse and soon turned into a storm as the wind picked up and more lightning fell from the sky along with loud roars of thunder as if there was a war on heaven itself. I finally reached the others when I summoned my sword. The sword too changed shape and color: it was black and longer with a curve edge at the end of the handle and also two more curved edges on both sides of the handle. There was a carving of an eye in the center of the handle and it also had some symbols on the blade.

"Amazing." I said aloud.

"Get into the battle field!" Secelia yelled.

I did as she said as I ran towards one of the figures. I jumped and quickly bolted down with a slash and swirled my sword once and then stabbed the figure. The figure suddenly burst a wave of energy as I fell back to the ground, stunned.

"Do a Unification!" Orbis yelled out.

"Right! Unification!" I yelled.

Black armour flashed onto me along with some blue lines shining in the night sky. I only had one sword and it was the same one along with wings. I felt a sudden jolt as my body lost control; it was as if the armour was controlling me. I went berserk as I raged on the figures. I slammed a few as I somehow summoned some lightning bolts to hit the ground and teleported from place to place slicing the figures as blood spattered onto the armour. More appeared as I continued to teleport and attack until I suddenly stopped and launched myself up into the air where I created some lightning bolts and absorbed them. I felt the power as it flowed through me; the incredible power that's even greater than Crimson's.

What was this power? My body stopped charging and bolted down to the ground and upon impact, I released all the energy to form a kind of shock wave that seemed to knock out anything in its way. Everyone was still in the area of the shock wave as I tried to get out of the trance. Suddenly my condition got worse as I teleported towards Secelia and attacked her. She was able to block the attack but I kept slashing with my sword as she was getting tired of blocking.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Secelia screamed.

"I can't control the armour!" I yelled.

Secelia jumped away as I teleported behind her and slashed her.

"No!" I screamed.

I watched as she fell to the ground. She was losing a lot of blood as Gawain came in. He looked at me and saw that I was the one who caused this.

The armour took control again as I teleported down towards Gawain and attacked from behind. Gawain blocked it with his sword and jumped up and spun himself to create a tornado right above me. My wings suddenly launched a jolt of electricity at Gawain as he fell to the ground; weak. My armour teleported towards him and slashed him, but he was able to block it but soon knocked out with a jolt of electricity. The others came in; all bruised from the shock wave.

"Are you mad? What are you doing?" Ignis asked.

"Run!" I declared.

Ignis launched a fireball at me as I jumped through it and slashed it away. I continued to run towards Ignis as I jumped over him and went for Orbis who was armed with a huge sword. I struck from above vertically as he blocked it horizontally. He managed to slash me as I lost some blood. I teleported next to Mare as I slashed her from behind, but missed since Orbis interfered by sacrificing himself. I tried to stop the armour from hurting anyone else as I tried with all my energy to stop it. I felt a huge jolt of electricity going through me as screamed out. I grunted and then fell to the ground, hoping that the others weren't in any serious conditions. Ignis stood still in shock as he looked at everyone. He quickly communicated the King and told him to quickly come to us with some medical help. My eyes got heavier as they slowly closed with the sight of Secelia.

I opened my eyes slowly as I saw light. When I fully opened my eyes, I saw the King talking to a young man who was wearing tail coat. He had long black hair which was falling to the sides, both having an equal amount. I grunted as I tried to get up.

"Now, now Andros. Don't strain yourself. You out of everyone had the most injuries." The King announced.

"That's good. Everyone is safe." I said relieved.

"Yes, they are. What happened?" the King asked.

"Crimson is gone. I think I have a new spirit. His name is Necros and when I went through the Unification process, he went berserk and tried to kill everyone." I announced.

"What do you mean new spirit? That isn't possible. A person can only have one spirit." The King informed.

I called Necros out as the King examined him. As weird as it looked, the King finally had a reply.

"This isn't a spirit Andros. This is an Echo. Impressive; you managed to get an Echo! This has never been achieved by anyone; you are the first, and I am the first to study this "Echo". We need to know what caused you to go berserk; we know nothing of an Echo. We didn't even know how it really looked like until now!" the King announced.

"I thought Echoes were…echoes." I said.

"Exactly. You see his glowing blue lines around him? That's probably where he stores his additional energy and the when he releases it, it can cause intense vibrations in objects it comes into contact with; thus creating an artificial echo. Amazing, right?" the King asked.

"I guess." I replied.

I called Necros back into my new gauntlet. Secelia walked up behind me and told me to turn around. When I did, she slapped me as I fell down.

"I got your soul man!" Gawain yelled.

"That was for trying to kill all of us!" Secelia yelled.

"Okay, I'm sorry." I said.

Secelia slapped me again; this time to the other side as Gawain moved back and watched in horror.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Secelia screamed.

"B—" I said.

Secelia slapped me again before I could finish what I was saying. I fell the ground laughing and smiling a dead smile. Secelia was going to go for a kick but then Gawain came in to absorb the impact as he fell down to the ground. The King slowly walked out of the room by stepping side to side as he saw his daughter's rage.

My gauntlet suddenly moved on its own as I stood up. Secelia and Gawain watched in confusion as the gauntlet scratched into the thin air as a portal came up and dragged all three of us into it. We all appeared on the Astral Road with our armour attached to us already, and somehow, all our wounds had healed. I saw a new gate had opened up as I quickly headed for it. Gawain and Secelia followed, confused, and asking questions. When I got to the new gate, I wondered if there was another guard who was supposed to guard the gate. I didn't care and just walked through the portal when we arrived in a coliseum filled with people. We appeared to be in the center of the battlefield as I looked ahead to see a young man who seemed my age. He had short black hair and had armour that looked prestige. His armour was glowing white with some blue fragments and had white wings with blue tips.

"It appears we have new challengers! What do you say to that Zukio?" a voice announced.

"Challenge accepted." Zukio announced.

Gawain and Secelia stared at me with worried looks as I slowly opened my mouth as I realized that this is going to be bad.

"Saga!" Zukio called out as a huge dragon spirit came out.

Its majestic wings spread as its body was pure white and had blue eyes.

"Saga as we all know is one of the three legendary Esordio Spirits! So let's see if one of these three challengers will be able to defeat him." The voice announced.

"What? What?" I said stunned that my opponent was one of the chosen heroes like me.

"This is bad. This is really, really bad." I said aloud.


End file.
